Battery box or tray for motor-vehicles.



No. 667,|89.- v Patented Feb. 5, l90l.

G. H. CONOICT.

BATTERY BOX OB TBAY FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

(Application filed S eph 3, 1898. Renewed July 12, 1900.)

(No Model.) L 2 Sheets-Shoat M N w WITNESSES INVENTOR,

TOHNE) Patented Feb. 5, I9OI. G. H. BONOIGT. BATTERY BOX OR'TBAY FORMOTOR VEHICLES.

(Application filed Sept. 3, 189B. Renewed July 12, 1900.)

2 Shaets$heet 2 (No Model.)

H/S OHNE Y NrTE STATES Enron.

GEORGE HERBERT CONDICT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.-, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE COLUMBIA AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY, OF JERSEYCITY, NETV JERSEY, AND HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

BATTERY BOX OR TRAY FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 667,189, dated February5, 1901. Application filed September 3,1898. Renewed July 12, 1900.Serial No. 23,322. (No model.)

To all whont it ntay concern/.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE HERBERT CoN- DIGT, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of New York, in the county of New Yorkand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Battery Boxes or Trays for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following isa specification.

The present invention is in connection with [O e1ectrically-propelledvehicles of the type in which the motive current is supplied by storagebatteries which are removed when exhausted and replaced by others whichhave been charged. The improvements relate to the vehicle itself and toautomatic electrical contacts thereon and to the tray or receptacle inwhich the storage batteries are contained, so as to be handled as asingle unit.

The vehicle itself, which may be of any desired or known type andconstruction, is provided with an inclosed compartment which I havecalled the battery-box. This ispreferably at the rear portion of thevehicle, although it may be elsewhere, and is provided with a suitabledoor to permit loading and unloading the batteries.

On account of the great weight of storage batteries sufficient tooperate a vehicle for any considerable length of time the matter ofhandling and replacing the spent batteries is of great importance. Itherefore arrange the desired number of cells of battery in a tray,where they are suitably connected to form a unit sufficient for thepurpose. The batterycontaining trays should be of substantially similaroutward dimensions and shape. In the interior of the battery-box arelocated a number of contacts, which are placed in the same relativepositions in the difierent vehicles in order to automatically engage andmake contact with corresponding contacts on the trays, and there may beany desired number of these contacts, four, however, being usuallysufficient. The trays, with their load of batteries, are heavy and notvery readily displaced, yet it is exceedingly desirable to secure goodelectrical connections and also to secure them so that they cannot bemoved by the jolting of the vehicle.

These and other advantages are secured by constructing the trays so thaton their exterior they are wedgeshaped--that is, narrower at their frontend and increasing in width toward the rearand I have also so locatedthe stationary contacts in the battery-box that when the tray has beeninserted endwise and pushed in into its final position thecorrespondingcontacts carried thereby are wedged firmly against andbetween the contacts on the vehicle, automatically making a perfectelectrical connection and at the same time firmly holding the trays inposition, so that they have no latitude of movement and cannot bestarted by jolting, since the contacts are all hard and fast againsteach other and all motion of the battery-tray is prevented. Theinsertion of the tray is also greatly facilitated. Furthermore, byconstructing the battery-tray so that. it has a smaller dimension infront than at its rear, that where it is pushed into the vehicle bymechanical means, some latitude of adjustment in the positioning of thevehicle to receive it is permissible and facilitates the operation, andwithout damage to the contacts in the battery box or receptacle. Wherethe contacts in the vehicle are on parallel lines, the said vehicle mustbe positioned with great exactness, since otherwise the operation ofloading is interfered with and damage may result. With my improvedconstruction the tapering portions of the tray enter at the widest partof the receptacle and the tray guides itself into position. It furtherfollows that a somewhat less exact and expensive construction of thereceptacle in the vehicle is also practicable and safe.

I have not considered itnecessary to illustrate the electric propellingmechanism of the vehicle in this application further than to show thelever by which the flow of current is controlled and the lever by whichthe steering apparatus is operated.

Other details of construction will be here inafter set forth, andpointed out and referred to in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing an electrically-propelled vehicle,the rear portion being broken away to show the interior of cab.

the battery-box with batteries in position. Fig. 2 is a transversecross-section of the battery-box on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aplan view of a battery-tray, showing also in dotted lines a portion ofthe battery-box, with contacts. Fig. t is an enlarged detailed view ofone of the stationary contacts in the battery-box; and Fig. 5 is asectional view thereof on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings, Fig. 1, A is an electricallypropelled vehicleillustrated in the form of a B, which, as shown, is an extension of therear end thereof, is the batterybox, which is closed by the hinged door0, and has the sides D D, the top E, and the bottom F. Two pieces ofangle-iron e f are secured to the bottom F at the proper distance apartto form supporting and retaining tracks and are arranged at an angle toreceive the tray and to securely hold it when fully inserted-that is, inits operative position.

G is the tray, which is desirably constructed of insulating material, aswood, vulcanized fiber, hard rubber, or the like; but as indicated it isof wood. Its interior is preferably rectangular inform, so as to containa number of standard secondary-battery cells H. The exterior of the trayG is, however, made tapering or wedge-shaped in form, being narrower atits front than at its rear end. In this instance two tapered bars ofwood 9 g are interposed between the batteries and the sides of the trayto hold them securely in position. Upon the exterior of the sides of thetray G are secured two pairs of stationary metallic contacts I I J J,and these correspond in position with and engage similar contacts K K LL, fixed to the sides of the interior of the battery-box. Handles orcatches i 'i are attached to the rear end of the battery-box forconnecting with mechanism for drawing it out or pushing it in.Angleirons G G are secured to the lower corners of the tray tocorrespond with and slide upon the angle-irons cf, forming ways in thebottom of the battery-box.

The drivers seat 61 is in an elevated position at the rear of thevehicle and above the battery-box, and b is the handle of thecontrolling apparatus by which the flow of current is regulated. Thedirection of travel of the vehicle is controlled by steering apparatusoperated through a lever a in front of the drivers seat.

The contacts I I J J of the battery-tray G are strips of good conductingmaterial, which are fixed permanently thereto and are provided with lugst" j, to which the cells are connected. The contacts K K L L of thebattery-box are yielding or elastic in their construction and may varyconsiderably in form.

I find the construction shown in Figs. 4C and 5 to be satisfactory inpractice. In said figures, M is a piece of good insulating mate rial-as,forinstance, porcelain. N is aframe of metal into which are fitted apair of contact-surfaces O P. These surfaces are capable of lateralmovement toward the block M and are held outward by springs Q. Extendingthrough the block are two metallic housings R R, which being hollowadmit the springs and hold them in posit-ion, as is more clearlyapparent from the sectional view, Fig. 5. An adjusting-screw having ahandle 1" is screwed in at the rear of each of said housings and servesto force themforward to increase the tension of springs Q, or viceversa.

The form and type of the secondary batteries H are not herein referredto since they :may be varied without in any way affecting the presentinvention, nor have I mentioned the connections between the cells of thesecondary batteries H for the same reason. The circuit connections fromthe stationary contacts K K L L of the battery-box are preferablysoldered into holes 13 in the contactpieces 0 P and extend to thecontroller which is operated by the hand-lever b, and as these may varythey are not specifically referred to. If preferred, the contact devicesupon the exterior of the battery-box may be arranged so as to besubstantially at equidistant positions, and the contacts upon the traymight also be so arranged, and the tray might be held in positiontogether by the angle-iron ways, between which it slides into position;but I find that the arrangement here described possesses distinctadvantages in practice, since as soon as the tray begins to be withdrawnthe contacts separate and the danger of injuring them by excessivefriction is minimized. The insertion of a new tray of batteries is alsogreatly facilitated by having the entering end narrower than the waysbetween which it is to move, and this is more particularly true in viewof the weight of the battery and the desirability of handling it quicklyin order to diminish the time during which the vehicle is out ofservice.

While I have referred to secondary or storage batteries, that being thetype most desirably employed in this connection, it must be understoodthat the invention is not limited thereto, but that any sort ofbatteries may be carried in the tray G and instantly connected ordisconnected with the working circuit on the vehicle when the tray isinserted or removed.

It will be apparent that in view of the foregoing description thedetailsof construction may be varied without departing from the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. A tray adapted tocontain a group of electric-battery cells, said tray formed with atapering or wedge-like exterior portion and provided with a plurality ofcontact-pieces connected with the battery-cells and located at points ofdifferent width upon the exterior of the tray.

2. In combination, a tray adapted to contain a group of electric-batterycells, said tray formed with a tapering or wedge-like exterior portionand provided with a plurality of contact-pieces connected with thebatterycells and located at points of different Width upon the exteriorof the tray, an electric vehicle having a battery box or receptacleadapted to receive the tray endwise and provided with yielding contactpieces corresponding with those on the tray when the latter is inoperative position.

3. In an electric vehicle, a battery box or receptacle to receive astorage battery, a battery-tray adapted to contain electric-batterycells, said tray being of narrower exterior dimension at the end firstintroduced into the receptacle.

4. The combination with a battery-compartment having an opening at itsrear end and provided with two or more sets of stationarycontact-pieces, of a battery-containing tray also provided with fixedcontactpieces secured to and located at points of different width on theexterior of the tray and adapted when said tray is inserted endwise intothe battery-box, to engage the corresponding contacts in said box whenthe tray is in operative position;

5. The combination with an electricallypropelled vehicle, of a batterybox or receptacle therein having Ways therein arranged at an angle and atray adapted to contain storage batteries and taperingin construction toconform to the angle of the ways and adapted to rest in and be guidedand held in position thereby.

6. The combination in an electrically-propelled vehicle, of a batterybox or receptacle having angle-iron tracks or Ways arranged inconvergent lines, a tray having a tapering or wedge-like exteriordimension and adapted to contain storage batteries and provided withprotective strips upon its tapering portion said strips adapted to slidein the ways of the battery-box to guide the tray into 0perative positionand to prevent lateral movement thereof.

7. The combination in an electrically-propelled vehicle formed with abattery boxer receptacle, of a plurality of yielding contacts andelectrical connections extending therefrom, of a tray having a taperingexterior dimension and adapted to contain the standard chargedbatteries, and provided with stationary contacts corresponding Withthose in the battery box or receptacle, said contacts located at pointsof different width upon the exterior of the tray, and adapted When saidtray is in position to engage and make contact therewith.

8. A battery-tray adapted to contain storage batteries, constructed intapering or wedge-like form and provided With a plurality of fixedcontacts, said contacts located at points of different width upon theexterior of its tapering portion, in combination with a receptacletherefor, said receptacle provided with stationary contacts, arranged toengage those on the tray when the latter. is in operative position.

Signed by me at New York, N. Y., this 2d day of September, 1898.

GEORGE HERBERT CONDIOT.

Witnesses:

FRANKLAND JANNUS, CHAS. E. DUROSS.

